Welcome back!This week is going to be a bit different. Due to fast approaching deadlines, I got too distracted with trying to finish all my experiments and didn’t write my blog as my week went. As such, I have no idea what I did each day, so I’m going to give you all a long mess of what generally happened this week, enjoy!

Species of the WeekStrongylocentrotus purpuratusPurple sea urchins! They are very abundant and well known among marine biologists and the community alike. Take a small step into the rocky intertidal, and you will easily find one (or 10).

I knew that posters were due soon, but we all didn’t realize how soon that really was. I have to wrap up all experiments I want to get data from to put on my poster and analyze it by next Monday (edit: it got extended *whew*. A draft is due Wednesday and the final draft due Friday. This gives me enough time to actually get data!)

On my list to do is end my light experiment, which will require getting pictures of all the isopods and stage their chromatophores. I realized my other chromatophore experiment I was going to do doesn’t really make sense, which is unfortunate I realized so late. I might still do it, but I need to revisit the plan (with all of the time I have) and make sure I’m actually testing what I want to test. However, I looked at a paper I had looked at in the beginning of the program and the author had looked at diurnal changes in chromatophores. Seeing as I’m keeping my isopods in artificial light patterns, I thought it could be interesting to see if they will have a similar response. This means I have to come in every 3 hours for 40 hours straight. Is it possible to be too committed to your job? (edit: Well, I didn’t last the whole 40 hours. I made it about 30, which is still pretty impressive. Word of advice, if you need to do a timepoint experiment get help or you will be forced to sleep in 2 hour increments for 30 hours.)

On a better note, I started a diet experiment with the babies! The set-up is amazing, a huge improvement from what I did with the light experiment. It’s much more organized; the only problem is the babies are small and they are hard to see on the black background. I won’t get results while I am here, but they will come!

All those tubes are feeding air into each of the black containers with isopod babies!

The poster is coming along as well. I really like making posters, it indulges all my aesthetic needs. It is really fun to put all of your work together concisely in one spot, and make it look really neat and pretty. It is going to feel really satisfying when it’s done; to actually see all the work I’ve done completed and in one spot.​That’s the recap! This weekend is crunch time. The program is coming to a close, and thus everything in my experiment is rushing to a close. This time next week, posters will be done and experiments will be over. On that note, I will see you next week!

Leave a Reply.

Author

Welcome! I grew up in Livermore, California and I’m about to enter my fourth and final year at University of California, Davis as an Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity major. As far as science goes my interest are in marine ecology and studying how the organisms that reside in the ocean interact with each other and their environment. I keep this as broad as possible because I am still exploring what is out there in terms of research and what I’m interested in. I heard about REUs in general from a fellow marine biologist back in Davis, so I decided to consider them for this summer. I applied to a ton of places and kept my fingers crossed I could get into one, and I did! Being able to conduct my own research was a highlight of REUs that sparked my interest and I’m very excited to be able to participate and be around like-minded individuals for 9 weeks.

While at OIMB I’ll be working under Aaron Galloway in the Coastal Trophic Ecology lab. It’s only been a few days, but I can already tell this summer is going to be a blast. I’m given just enough freedom to be able to think of my own ideas, but just enough guidance that I’m not a total deer in the headlights. I’m quickly finding out there are many possibilities on projects and while that has been overwhelming, I also feel very lucky to be here and to be having these opportunities.​My time out of the lab this week has mostly centered around meals, but those meals have been prime bonding time for me and the other REUs to chat with each other. We talk about our labs, how we’re feeling about the whole experience, how amazing the food is, that cool organism we saw in the tide pools the other day. Everyone is incredibly nice and supportive and I'm very excited to be able to share this experience with them.

Updates on what I've been doing will come weekly, so on that note I will see you in a week!